2016 Tournament Final Round

vs

And so we come to the final prompt for this year. Both authors have fought hard and delivered some incisive victories thus far and we are looking forward to this battle. Besides, who could have predicted a rematch?

We will get right to it. The prompt is…birds. Yes. Birds. Our feathered friends have been interpreted in our noggins in hundreds of different ways.

Their ability to fly made some like the Egyptians model gods after them. Their ferocious beaks and claws made some model their monsters, like harpies and hippogriffs, on them. They stand for peace and they stand for war. And there are so damn many of them that Hitchcock turned them into horror movie stars. So, yes, birds.

We have two judges that will render their decision next Monday. The third vote comes from you, the readers. We ask that you read both stories objectively, and then leave a comment below or on the story itself. Authors are not allowed to comment on their own stories, but we’re sure they’ll be checking in here. We’ll tally up the totals and announce our champion on Monday.